10 tech lessons learned from a cross-Canada road trip

We have become ridiculously addicted to personally technology which is why we take it with us everywhere, even on vacation.

Photograph by: Chris Jackson, Getty Images
, Getty Images

After driving more than 12,000-kilometres on an epic, cross-Canada family road trip, I have learned just how reliant we have become on the personal technology we carry with us.

We lugged around a laptop, a tablet computer, two smartphones, a handheld gaming device, two MP3 players and two digital cameras, complete with their various chargers, cables. memory cards and batteries.

As the family’s IT department manager, here are 10 things I learned during the journey that relate to the gadgets we carry when we are on the road:

1. BRING AN EXTENSION CORD: A lack of free electrical outlets in hotel rooms can make it difficult to charge your gadgets. Bring a short extension cord that allows you to attach multiple chargers to one outlet.

2. SIMPLIFY YOUR CHARGER SETUP: If you have several devices that can be charged with USB cables, consider bringing a USB hub or a multiple-outlet charger which lets you power everything. It will certainly lighten your load.

3. ADD LIGHTER OUTLETS TO YOUR CAR: You can charge many devices with USB cables via adapters for your car’s cigarette lighter outlet, but if you’ve got to charge more than one gizmo, think about an outlet multiplier which adds more sockets to your lighter.

4. GET AN INVERTER: Not everything works with the 12-volt output of your car’s cigarette lighter. In those cases, get a voltage inverter. It lets you power a regular 110-volt appliace with your lighter outlet.

5. PACK A BACKUP INTERNET DEVICE: If you’re relying on the internet to research your trip as you go or to make reservations, consider what would happen if it failed. My laptop died three days into a three-week trip. Fortunately, I had a smartphone that let me get online.

6. BRING CAMERA EXTRAS: If you have a digital camera, bring a second battery for it and keep it charged. Also bring an extra memory card. You don’t want to be taking the photo of a lifetime and have no juice for your camera or space to save it.

7. HAVE A BACKUP CAMERA: When you see pro photographers in action, they often have two cameras. Think like they do and have a backup plan for your main camera if it fails, even if that means just using your smartphone’s built-in camera.

8. WI-FI ISN’T ALWAYS RELIABLE: When it comes to free wi-fi, you sometimes get what you pay for. Since you can’t always rely on it, think of having some other way to get online, such as with a smartphone or tablet that is connected to a cellular network.

9. WATCH OUT FOR ROAMING CHARGES: If you stray beyond your regular mobile network, especially if you cross the border into the United States, you can incur significant roaming charges when you use a smartphone, especially if you access a lot of data online. Investigate roaming packages from your mobile provider or other third-party companies to keep you from being bankrupted.

10. USE A PAPER MAP: Navigating with a GPS simplifies a driver’s life, but they aren’t always accurate so be sure to verify the route on a paper map. They also come in handy if anything goes wrong with your navigation unit.

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